A growing mining business, focused on producing specialised coals
for the metallurgical industry, with exciting prospective gold
projects and an anticipated entry into the local platinum market
through a competitive bidding process.
This is an overview of the current status of seven-year-old
Toronto-listed mining company AfriOre.
The firm’s Somkele anthracite project, near Richards Bay, is
undergoing a feasibility study, which will be completed in the
coming months, before mine development is given the go-ahead.
The 14 700-ha area contains anthracite resources of some 80-million
tons, of which 2,7-million tons has been brought up to reserve
status.
These reserves are sufficient for the initial five years of
production from a proposed open-pit mining operation, whicrusher spare parts pakistanch is
expected to produce some 500 000 t/y, reports AfriOre president and
COO Stuart Comline.
„The mine could be in production by the middle of next year;
however, developments in the local and international markets, as
well as permitting and legislation issues, will influence the
timing of the development start-up,“ he says.
All of the company’s current 940 000 t of yearly anthracite
production comes from its Springlake operation outside Dundee in
Kwazulu-Natal.
In the future, cs crusher parts manualthe firm intends to increase its coal production,
drawing a suite of products from a number of operations, which will
provide a full range of products for the various metallurgical
industries, says Comline.
„By the time we open Somkele mine, we will be able to supply a
large proportion of the local market’s low-volatile specialised
coal requirements, and we have acquired rights to other specialised
coals, to further expand our product line.“ Although a growing coal
company, AfriOre will use any profits made from its coal stone crushers for sale in pakistanoperations
to finance its core business in the precious-metals industry,
affirms Comline.
The company currently holds an interesting portfolio of gold
prospects, some of which it has owned since 1998.
„We are in the process of assembling a portfolio of projects, which
will include advanced stage high-grade exploration projects, as
well as less- developed projects which will provide upside
exploration.
„We are also interested in low-grade advanced stage projects which
will provide gearing in the event of a rising gold price.
„Alternatively, we are aggressively pursuing a number of
exploration projects that could present us with a large
above-average orebody to develop and mine,“ he says.
„We have been looking in West and East Africa, as well as in the
Southern African Development Community, and now have a series of
projects at various stages of development“ he explains.
These include a 70% stake in a previously drilled-out project where
a feasibility study indicated a low-grade gold resource of about
three quarters of a million ounces.
One of the firm’s most exciting gold prospects is the FSC project,
where the firm has worked with research specialists at the
University of the Witwatersrand to identify buried extensions to
the Witwatersrand basin.
„Over the years, we have painstakingly established a comprehensive
database from exploration in the area,“ says Comline.
„To date, a considerable sum of money has been spent on exploration
in the area and, if exploration is successful, it could lead to a
very exciting discovery, he says.
In Kenya, the firm is looking at two specific gold prospects which
could host large-tonnage deposits, while it also has rights to two
kimberlites in the country.
The company’s diamond exploration and base-metal holdings will be
farmed out to joint venture partners in the near future, in order
to focus on its core business of gold and platinum exploration,
explains Comline.
In platinum, AfriOre forms part of a bid to the Department of
Minerals and Energy for a stake in the mineral rights in the
Limpopo Province’s Bushveld Complex that was previously held by
Anglo Platinum.
The firm was approached by an empowerment consortium from the local
community, to take a 50% stake in a bid for what is known as the
Mogodumo prospect, explains Comline.
AfriOre will supply much of the project funding, as well as
technical and management support. The firm expects a decision on
the awarding of the land within the next few months, reports
Comline.